Puducherry (PTI): Plastic products manufacturers of Tamilnadu and Puducherry will observe a dawn to dusk fast in Chennai on July 7 to press for their charter of demands.

S Rajaganapathy, president of the Plastic Traders and Manufacturers Association (Puducherry) said in a release that entrepreneurs have been facing severe hardship, particularly in Mettupalayam indutrial estate for some time now due to frequent power cuts. Production had been affected, he said, adding that the Association had already appealed to the electricity department to address this problem.

There are around 2500 plastic industries here. Registered units in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry number 8000 and there are about 9000 unregistered units. These industries provide employment both directly and indirectly to thousands of workers. In view of this, the units should be assured of uninterrupted power supply, Rajaganapathy said.

He said the fast would among things urge the Centre to concede the demands of the concerns for removal of five per cent customs duty and also four per cent additional import duty imposed on raw materials.